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The literacy researcher finding ways to strengthen the language skills of multilingual learners

Published: 18 December 2025

Interviews Learning & Education Development Society Reading and writing Diversity Education systems Equity Genetics Individual differences Language Learning environments Psychology Teaching methods Learning variability

Brenda Wawire provides evidence that helps tailor interventions to diverse learning needs

Image by Claudia Flandoli for BOLD

Interviewee:

Brenda Wawire

Research Faculty, Florida State University

Interview by:

Aisha Schnellmann

Editorial Team, BOLD

Despite significant progress in foundational literacy, many multilingual children from diverse communities in sub-Saharan Africa still struggle to read. Brenda Wawire explores ways to improve these children’s language and literacy. Aisha Schnellmann finds out more.

Aisha Schnellmann: What do you study, and why?
Brenda Wawire: In sub-Saharan Africa, an estimated 89% of children aged 10 cannot read and comprehend a simple story. Many children are attending school but not learning effectively. Consequently, they are unlikely to reach their full potential, which threatens their health, economic stability, and wellbeing and perpetuates cycles of poverty.

“Many children are attending school but not learning effectively.”

I focus on strengthening the language and literacy of multilingual learners from culturally and linguistically diverse communities in sub-Saharan Africa. I examine how language comprehension and word recognition interact and transfer across languages. I look at the impact of these skills on reading comprehension and at strategies that help multilingual learners bridge the languages they know to strengthen their bilingual and biliteracy skills. I also examine how whole-class and small-group interventions can improve language and literacy skills in these learners, and the effects of teaching practices on students at risk of reading failure.

Another goal of my research is to understand the causes of reading difficulties among multilingual learners from low- and middle-income backgrounds. I am investigating how environmental factors and cognitive traits influence how learners respond to targeted interventions. I am also developing a tool for screening for developmental dyslexia in Kiswahili—an African lingua franca—which will tell us more about individual differences among learners with dyslexia.

 “I am investigating how environmental factors and cognitive traits influence how learners respond to targeted interventions.”

This work provides evidence for interventions tailored to the needs of multilingual children from diverse linguistic backgrounds who are living in poverty.

AS: What changes have you seen in literacy in sub-Saharan Africa?
BW: Over the years, foundational literacy in sub-Saharan Africa has improved, despite high levels of learning poverty. These improvements are credited to teacher training that emphasizes subject matter knowledge, understanding of reading components and skills, and effective pedagogical practices. Curricula have been revised to reflect the science of reading and teaching, and teachers now have better access to teaching and learning materials.

However, the overall impact remains modest. Many learners still fail to meet grade-level benchmarks and remain at risk of reading failure. This may be due to a tendency towards teacher- rather than student-centred or differentiated pedagogies and to the constraints of overcrowded classrooms. Instruction may not take into account individual differences, and children may not be learning in their first or familiar language. Educators may have a limited understanding of the causes of reading difficulties among these learners.   

AS: How will your research help children?
BW: My research sheds light on the relationships among individual cognitive traits, environmental factors, and literacy outcomes, with the goal of guiding the design of interventions to enhance children’s learning experiences. It will be helpful in tailoring instructional strategies to behaviour and skills, and in providing professional training for aspiring as well as veteran teachers. The aim is to enable teachers and teacher candidates to create adaptable educational experiences that meet the individual and changing needs of every child. Ultimately, the evidence will help education stakeholders equip all children with the knowledge and skills needed to reach their full potential.

“The aim is to enable teachers and teacher candidates to create adaptable educational experiences that meet the individual and changing needs of every child.”

The screening tool for developmental dyslexia in Kiswahili is designed to identify sources of reading difficulties and allow researchers to monitor reading disabilities. Adapting the tool to other Bantu languages will encourage broader screening for dyslexia.

AS: What are the biggest mysteries in multilingual language learning?
BW: Given the variability in learning and development across different contexts, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, further research is needed to understand the factors that shape individual growth. There is limited evidence from sub-Saharan Africa on the mental processes involved in learning and development—how information is acquired, processed, stored, and used. To understand literacy development among multilingual learners, we need to examine individual differences in how multilinguals develop language and how these differences influence literacy skills in their first and additional languages. Cognitive traits, family history, and genetic factors all combine to shape learning and development.

AS: What are your hopes for the future of interventions?
BW: I hope that intervention design will be guided by evidence on learner variability in learning and development. I also hope that educators will be equipped to assess learning differences and to use the relevant data to inform their instruction. I would love to see interventions for children living in poverty focus not only on school-related factors, but also on out-of-school aspects such as the home literacy environment, health and wellbeing, and whole-child development.